The Election
by lostcowgirl
Summary: The results of a special election could change everything for Kitty. First Matt has to do his part, if he can. This is an ATC to Dry Road to Nowhere in honor of Election Day and to a lesser extent an ATC to Seven Hours to Dawn.
1. Chapter 1 - The Challenge

Chapter 1 - The Challenge

"Are you gonna allow Reverend Campbell to hold his meeting out at Moreland's farm tomorrow night? Either way I plan on holding a meeting to circulate a counter petition among my customers for them to pledge to register and then vote no at the special election."

"I was thinking of letting Campbell hold that meeting, but even with Dingo dead your plans could still lead to trouble, Kitty. Wally and the Lazy O bunch are in town for another day at least."

"Do whatever you have to, Matt. I'm gonna fight for my livelihood."

"I know you won't back down and neither will he. That's what worries me. It's not easy to keep the peace around here, you know."

"Are you referring to the entire town or just this bed?"

"The town. Most times keeping the peace right here is a simple matter," Matt replied, drawing her into his arms, his lips seeking hers.

US Marshal Matt Dillon knew he couldn't be seen to favor one side over the other. He'd have to somehow protect both sides if another melee broke out like earlier tonight. Campbell had already requested it. The two factions would somehow have to be kept apart and unarmed. He'd told Kitty as much before he finished dressing the next morning, leaving her to get the rest of her beauty rest. Now all he had to do was find the reverend. He spotted Amos and Bess Campbell walking from the Dodge House to Delmonico's for breakfast.

By the time Doc and Festus joined Matt and Kitty for dinner at a table in the surprisingly crowded restaurant there were posters advertising both meetings up and down Front Street and even in the windows of the businesses that weren't on Dodge City's main street. Moss Grimick's stable, Quint Asper's blacksmith shop and every other public building in town prominently displayed one or both flyers. Private homes whose residents felt strongly about the issue displayed posters that favored their side of the temperance issue. Most businesses sported handbills for both sides. All the notices specified all guns were to be placed in barrels outside the meeting place.

While Matt tried to figure out how he could outwardly maintain a neutral stance, Kitty set about chatting with every man who frequented her saloon and, in some cases, their wives if she thought they'd sway the men in their lives to her way of thinking. She made sure even those who couldn't read would know to come to her meeting.

By eight that night both factions assembled. Reverend Amos Campbell held the group at the Moreland farm spellbound while his daughter took advantage of his persuasive oratory to gain as many signatures as she could on the petition to force a vote on drinking in Dodge. Meanwhile, Kitty used her not insignificant powers over men to convince those gathered in the Long Branch to sign pledges to not only make sure they were registered voters but to actually vote when the day came.

Matt had deputized extra men to stand by the barrels and make sure neither faction was armed. He, Festus and Quint made rounds looking for anything that smacked of trouble. By midnight he'd begun to relax, but he still kept a sharp eye on all the saloons, gambling dens, dance halls and brothels for men itching for a fight. It didn't come from the Lazy O cowboys. They remained in the Long Branch. It came from the lowlifes that the feisty redhead sent to do their drinking elsewhere. A dozen of these shady gamblers and drifters marched from the Lady Gay, Oasis and Bull's Head west down Front Street, gathering their horses as they moved toward the Moreland farm, two miles outside town.

The dozen spoilers took their time so as not to alert the marshal to their plans. They moved at different rates and mounted their horses at different times to hide the fact they were heading for one place in particular. However, Matt Dillon hadn't remained alive this long by being easily fooled. Therefore, it came as a big surprise when the group reached the small brick building with the plaque proclaiming it as the US Marshal Office, Dodge City, Kansas that three men stood in the street with shotguns blocking further progress.

"If you want to hold a third meeting the same rules apply. You can leave your guns at my office and pick them up tomorrow morning."

"What meeting, lawman? We got a right to take our guns with us when we leave your dusty excuse of a cow town. Besides, we out number you four to one," the man in the middle of the first trio declared as he let the reins of his horse drop from his hand.

From the way he stared at Matt, Quint and Festus, the smartly dressed man with the scar on his left cheek was a gunman, not an ordinary cowhand. He was not about to give ground and neither were the 11 other men who fanned out across the broad expanse of Front Street. In response the tall marshal and his two friends also spread out while never taking their eyes off the men they faced.

"We'll get half of you with these shotguns before we go down. It's a good chance we'll get a few more before we die. Are you willing to risk it?"

The man who'd issued the challenge said nothing in reply. He only wriggled the fingers of his gun hand, moving it ever so slightly closer to his holster.


	2. Chapter 2 - Complications

Chapter 2 – Complications

"Miss Kitty, Miss Kitty! Somebody's got to help or they're gonna kill the marshal and Festus and Quint too!" Louie Pheeters announced as he shuffled into the crowded, boisterous saloon.

"Louie, what are you talking about? Matt put on extra deputies tonight. Besides, everyone turned in their guns."

"I heard them, Miss Kitty at the Lady Gay. Then I heard them again at the Bull's Head. I went there to get the drinks I was owed for sweeping up after I pledged you my vote. They were real mean looking and ready to shoot."

"Are you sure you're not getting tonight mixed up with another night? Matt had someone watching the barrels at every saloon. Nobody but Matt and his deputies has any weapons in town."

"They have guns, Miss Kitty. I saw men with guns by the barrels, but they were sleeping."

"Miss Kitty, the marshal can take care of himself," her chief bartender assured her. "He's probably taking a break in his office right now."

"I'm worried Sam. A part of me can't shake the feeling that maybe there's something to what Louie's told us. Somebody should check it out."

"Me and my boys will do it, Miss Kitty, but we'll need our weapons first."

"Thanks Wally. Rudy, give the Lazy O boys their guns back."

Their weapons restored to them, the six cowboys walked steadily but quietly down the middle of Front Street toward the jailhouse. They stopped abruptly three feet behind a dozen men with six-guns squaring off against Marshal Dillon and his two deputized friends.

"Looks like the odds have changed. I suggest you do as the marshal told you if you don't want to die."

"Why you siding with the law on this?" the man with the scarred cheek asked as he turned around to look at the cowboys behind him. "You boys like a drink as much as the next fella."

"We've seen what this Reverend Campbell can do. Killing the marshal, his deputies and whoever else won't stop him. The only way to make sure the saloons are open the next time you come through Dodge is to make sure most of the folks who live here vote to keep things as they are."

"Don't bother taking off your gun belts. Get out of Dodge now," Matt ordered.

The night's excitement was over. Matt made his final rounds, ending up at the Long Branch. Eyeing the street one final time, he walked down the alley toward the back stairs and up them. Using his key, he made his way quietly down the hall to the rooms he shared with Kitty as often as he could.

Ten o'clock the next morning found the United States Marshal headquartered in Dodge City, Kansas with his feet up on his desk going through that day's mail. It was no surprise that his paycheck was now a week late. He frowned as Herb Wilcox, county clerk and chairman of both the Ford County and Dodge City Election Commissions and Mayor James H. Kelley walked through his door without so much as a knock.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" he inquired, straightening up in his chair.

"Marshal Dillon," Mayor Kelley intoned. "I'm sure you are well aware of the controversy that's been stirred up by the presence of the temperance preacher Amos Campbell. The result is three separate petitions – one supporting his position, a second, also containing the signatures of both men and women, seeking restrictions on the activities of the soiled doves and their promoters in our midst and finally one pledging to register and vote to retain the current drinking laws signed only by men."

"I can't see how that affects law enforcement until after the results are in. Why come to me?"

"There's a lot at stake, Marshal. It could mean either continued growth in the cattle trade or the end of it," the runt of a clerk replied squinting through his spectacles. "Then where would Dodge be?"

"We want someone above the fray to certify that the names of at least 100 eligible voters appear on any or all of these papers before scheduling a special election of any sort," the obviously well-fed, mustachioed mayor continued before Matt could say anything. "They'd believe it if you, a man hired by Washington, certified that they meet the minimum qualifications. In return, we'll support you when your reappointment next comes up."

"Oh, I see. You don't want our new lawyer Breckenridge Taylor to have any grounds to challenge the need to hold an election or have a court throw out the results if it happens to agree with your position."

"No Marshal, we wouldn't. You'll find all you need in the voter registration rolls stored in the records room of the land office. Of course, being the chief law officer in the area, you're familiar with the regulations concerning voting."

Matt didn't completely ignore the names on the petitions. He gave the matter what time he could during what turned out to be the biggest cattle season yet. He crossed off all the women since only men held the right to vote. That eliminated about 30% of the names on the first two petitions. He also dropped anyone who was killed or left town since they put their names down.

While the marshal of Dodge dealt with barroom fights, street brawls and every other kind of trouble that came along with the money for the town coffers brought by the gamblers, cattlemen, nesters and any other sort attracted to the town for the season, Kitty found both the time and ways to encourage the men who passed through her batwing doors to register and vote.

Breckenridge Taylor, also wasn't idle. He filed papers seeking clarification of the jurisdiction encompassed by the proposed referendums, but held back on challenging the proposed changes in the prostitution laws on the grounds that they were unfairly restricting the rights of those earning a living either partially or completely from it by imposing what amounted to a special tax until after the vote. The ladies and businesses where they plied their services were more than willing to bring suit should the vote take place and the reformers win. Filing for an injunction would be unnecessary until at the very least Matt certified that there were enough names of actual registered voters, whether in all of Ford County, within the area from which Dodge drew students for its school or within the actual city limits to bring the proposed change in the law to a vote.

The early herds of late April and early May blossomed into a flood of Texans and all who stood to gain from their presence in late May through June, July and into August. This was the annual cattle season that put the town on the map. Despite all that he had to do to simply maintain some semblance of order, Matt had pared down the list of names associated with the two calls for changes in law by half. According to the regulations a man had to have established continuous residence at a given address for no less than 30 days, including the hotels and rooming houses. If a family moved outside the city limits but continued to reside within the Dodge City school district or Ford County, they could no longer vote in elections strictly limited to Dodge City. Using this as a starting point, Breck pushed for a judge to decide how much of Ford County and in particular the area immediately surrounding Dodge City could petition for the changes.

Judge Hiram Gladding was assigned the task when he came through Dodge the week of August 13, 1877 of deciding who should vote on the issues of drinking and prostitution. The lobby of the Dodge House, having been turned into a temporary courtroom, was packed Thursday morning the 16th to hear his decision.

"After reviewing all the briefs and facts presented to me by the interested parties, it's my considered opinion that since there is no apparent practice of legally sanctioned prostitution or consumption of spirits outside of Dodge City proper it is my considered opinion that the proposed referendum on those practices should only apply within the city limits. Furthermore, this being the case, the actual vote should be limited to registered voters residing within said jurisdiction rather than the school district or all of Ford County. In consequence, I hereby direct Marshal Dillon, whom the city council has indicated as the arbiter, and any legal assistant he solicits to determine who those duly registered voters are and whether 100 of said voters' names appear on the petitions seeking a referendum on the proposed changes to the laws of Dodge City. If he determines the criteria for holding a special election are met, I further instruct Mr. Dillon as the highest ranking duly constituted law enforcement officer in the jurisdiction to set the date of said special election."

Since many of the most vocal advocates for the proposed changes lived on outlying farms and ranches, an appeal was immediately filed. The Appeals Court in Topeka wasted no time. While keeping the bulk of Judge Gladding's ruling intact, they made one small change to the circuit judge's decision. They ruled on August 24 to expand the effected area outward by a two-mile radius to include Dodge City's entire school district. Thus men like Pete Morgan at whose farm the second temperance rally was held would have a say. Because of the Appeals Court ruling determining exactly who was eligible and thus when the election would be held had to wait until after the law enforcement conference in San Francisco Washington had already ordered Matt Dillon to attend.


	3. Chapter 3 - Some Things Are More Importa

Chapter 3 – Some Things Are More Important

It was early September when Matt, Doc and Kitty returned from San Francisco. After the harrowing experiences there all three were anxious to return to what passed for normal in Dodge City at the tail end of the cattle season. However, even that small measure of normality took a few days to establish. It was finally achieved by removing the names of those who'd been killed during Matt's absence completed the painstaking and boring, yet necessary task he wished had never been assigned to him. All that remained was actually holding the vote.

The tall lawman took a break from the paperwork that had accumulated during his absence to saunter down the boardwalk to the Long Branch. He located Mayor Kelley and Election Commissioner Wilcox at a table with the banker Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Dolby, the owner of the Dodge House discussing local politics over a bottle of Kitty's finest whiskey in amongst an inordinate number of strangers for this time of year. Stopping long enough to let them know he was ready to schedule the special election the Dodge marshal left to continue his rounds and finish off the remaining paperwork.

Matt reflected on the reason so many strangers were in town as he went about his normal late in the season Saturday night routine. He certainly didn't dwell on the date the four men he'd briefly spoken with suggested, September 25. The date seemed as good a choice as any to get this whole bothersome thing over with. Then he, Kitty and the few others he cared deeply about could get back to their lives, however the vote turned out. It never occurred to him that it was September 15, hardly more than a month prior to the local election on November 6 when those four hypocritical men might be voted out of office. Then all hell broke loose in the form of Mason Gore and his outlaw army.

Sunday morning found the Gore gang decimated, their leaders dead and most of the remaining surviving men captured by the new cavalry company they found on the train instead of the expected gold. Neither the scheduled vote nor Mason Gore's defeat mattered to Kitty Russell when Doc brought her home from Ma Smalley's. Her world had ceased to have meaning when Matt was shot down before her eyes as he galloped down Front Street in a desperate effort to get to Fort Dodge. Then the miracle happened or she'd slipped into a waking dream. An apparently alive Matt Dillon sat in a chair right before her eyes. She ran to the man she'd been mourning since last night.

"Kitty, it's alright. I'm gonna be all right, Kitty."

"Why, why?" she sobbed, turning her face toward Doc. "Why did you let me think he was dead?"

"He had to Miss Kitty," Festus, whom she hadn't noticed, replied. "Don't you see? If he hadn't of they'd have finished ole Matthew off for sure."

The couple clung to each other half expecting one or both would disappear while Doc checked his patient's pulse. The good doctor was relieved enough that he was able to joke a bit about his prognosis. He allowed that Matt's assurances of his recovery to be true if the man received "an awful lot of attention for the next couple or three weeks" before leaving the couple alone to begin the healing process. He wasn't gone long.

Doc returned with his medical bag and Sam a tad too late to see the marshal and his woman exchange a quick kiss. Had he caught it, the physician would have smiled to see the attention and predicted response had begun. After checking Matt's pulse yet again to see if his patient could be moved with assistance, he decided a shorter trip up the Long Branch stairs was preferable to the longer walk over to Doc's office and his steeper stairway. Besides, the physician had to admit recommended treatment could more easily be administered where his patient and preferred nurse were most comfortable.

Matt was exhausted by the time he half-walked and was half-carried by the two men and one woman to her rooms. Seeing he would only be in the way, Sam left so his employer and the town doctor could put the marshal to bed with whatever assistance the big lawman could give in his weakened state. He barely had enough strength to remove his vest and shirt while Kitty turned down the cover on the big brass bed the two of them shared as often as possible. She pulled off his boots and socks while he gathered what strength remained to shed his pants.

As a result of all the activity so soon after surgery, including the gun battle with Gore, Matt was asleep before Doc finished listening to his chest with the stethoscope, checked the stitches had held and placed fresh bandages over the wounds. While Doc put away his instruments Kitty watched both men. She was relieved to see the slow rise and fall of his chest as the man she loved with all her heart lay on the bed, but remained angry with the doctor. Therefore, she berated him for what he'd done before the old man could escape out the door.

"You're not going anywhere until I'm finished with you! I want your answer to my question, not the one Festus gave."

"What question would that be? I've already answered them all."

"Oh no you don't, Doc. Don't try to wiggle out of it. Festus can't tell me why you lied to me. Only you can. Talk. What you have to tell me better be good," she said blocking his exit and locking the door.

"It was a miracle Matt was still alive after they shot him so many times and the chances were slim that even as skilled a physician as I am could prolong it. There was a better than 90% chance that removing the bullets wouldn't save him, especially given the conditions under which I was forced to operate. Festus assisted me. Honey, I couldn't bear to see you grieve a second time after I first raised your hopes, so I didn't tell you."

"Matt's alive. That's the important thing. Your skill saved him so I'm pretty sure I'll be able to forgive you in time. Meanwhile, I'll do all I can to keep him that way."

Over the next week Matt's condition gradually improved. By day two he was restless from being cooped up, but would have been impossible if he'd been forced to stay in Doc's two rooms. By day three he left the bed to sit and watch the street until he fell asleep in the chair. After that, when he wouldn't be observed, Matt walked the upstairs hallway between Kitty's rooms and the back stairs.

To further stave off boredom he spent time going over the lists of registered voters in the Dodge City School District with Breckinridge Taylor and comparing them with the men who'd signed the petitions while Kitty spent time keeping her saloon going. Matt and Breck crossed off from the petitions all those who weren't eligible to vote and put stars next to the names of those who would support the current law.

By their count if all the men registered voted Dodge would be able to continue to serve whiskey by a small margin. They figured the proposed fines for prostitution vote was too close to call. When they were alone, Matt showed Kitty their projections. The saloon owner didn't care. All she wanted was for her cowboy to be completely healthy again and for Gore's men to be punished for nearly succeeding in killing him.


	4. Chapter 4 - More Complications

Chapter 4 – More Complications and Distractions

The trial of Mason Gore's remaining men could have been held elsewhere. The gang had wrecked havoc in so many towns. However, it was here in Dodge City that a man who should have died from the hail of bullets they poured into him hatched the plan that destroyed them. The entire town had a stake in what would take place in Judge Brooker's court a mere eight days after US Marshal Matt Dillon miraculously survived. Some would bear witness to his attempted murder, but everyone knew his testimony about the seizure of his town would be the means to a just end for those facing prosecution.

The man at the center of events awoke early Monday, the day of the trial, and got out of bed thinking the redhead lying next to him was still asleep. Matt was now strong enough to easily walk to the washroom to wash and shave before starting to dress. He had no problems at all until he sat down on the bed to pull on his boots. The effort pulled at his stitches and he let an involuntary groan escape his lips.

"Need help with that?" Kitty asked sleepily.

She finally convinced him of the wisdom of walking down the saloon's front stairs together. It was early enough that only Sam would be there, but late enough that the coffee might be ready. Matt tried not to show it, but this longest walk he'd so far attempted and the stairs tired him. He knew he had to appear strong for his testimony. That didn't mean his condition escaped Doc's notice when the town doctor walked into the saloon with a tray full of biscuits to go with the coffee.

"Well, Mr. Marshal, I see you've applied your own medical expertise and decided you're well enough to deal with stairs. At least you left your gun belt behind. As for you, young lady, I'll have to fire you as his nurse for allowing him to come down here on his own."

"Now see here, Curly. You may be his doctor, but in my experience as his nurse, once he decides it's time to join the wider world we're all powerless to stop him. At least I persuaded him to wait until he could take my arm while also making use of the banister. Besides, coming down now gives him time to rest before we're expected across the street."

Despite Doc's halfhearted protests, the three walked over to Delmonico's before heading to the Dodge House for the trial to eat breakfast, or in Matt's case to devour it. The way he was shoveling in the steak, eggs and potatoes, it wouldn't be long before he was at full strength, perhaps before Doc removed the stitches. For now all he needed was to be ready to take the stand in the lobby of the hotel and testify to the events that occurred the previous weekend. They were nearly finished eating when Breckinridge Taylor walked in with his surprise.

"Before any of you say anything further, I have to tell you it's true. I'm representing the prisoners. Even they deserve a defense."

"Breck, I know someone has to represent them and how you feel about due process, but that person doesn't have to be you."

"That's true, Matt, but you know we couldn't find another competent lawyer in time. I'm the best available. It's why I stopped working on the special election after the appeals court ruling."

Everyone's property was returned as soon as Matt gave Festus the order. They had much to be thankful for as the churchgoers among them gathered that previous Sabbath and yesterday to pray. Still, there were those for whom the mere return of material goods could never be enough. They remembered the fear and also how death was dealt out with nary a thought. Any one of the gang could just as well have slain any of them like a farmer would a mule that no longer served a purpose. Feelings were running high as the Dodge House lobby filled to overflowing.

Thanks to his job and the prominence of his testimony a seat was reserved for Matt directly behind the table where Breck sat with Festus, Sam and the six prisoners. The sometime deputy from the hills had managed to warn off enough people that two other seats remained. Doc and Kitty quickly filled them. Since all three were key prosecution witnesses nobody in the crowd objected to what otherwise might have been seen as preferential treatment for a saloon woman. Even the oh so respectable biddies like Miss Pry failed to utter so much as a peep to Kitty sitting in a spot normally reserved for respectable leading citizens.

The room was overflowing. Still, everyone who wasn't already standing rose as Judge Brooker entered from the hotel dining room. Seemingly only a moment later first the prosecution lawyer and then Breck Taylor for the defense stood to summarize how they intended to prove their case. Although the lawyers faced the jury of 12 Dodge City men of some community standing seated to the right of the judge's desk, the two men addressed the entire town.

Witness after witness was called to testify against the accused. Breck declined to cross-examine any of them. That is until Hank Miller's turn came. The stableman had described in every detail the abuse he suffered when he objected to the gang members running off all the horses. In his first attempt at questioning a witness the defense attorney got Hank to admit he couldn't be sure which, if any, of the accused men had actually accosted him as he swung by his feet. All he could be certain of was the men were part of the gang.

Dora Frazier, a young girl who'd been manhandled and threatened by one of Gore's men, was the next witness. Taylor was ready when she'd finished describing her ordeal for the prosecution.

"Miss Frazier, how late was it when you found yourself, an unescorted girl in her night clothes, by the stables? For that matter, why were you outside your home at all?"

"I don't know, around one. We live only about a 100 yards away from Mr. Grimack's Livery. I heard horses running down the street. It's what woke me. I threw on a robe and climbed out my bedroom window to investigate. I expected a fire, but didn't see one, even when I got closer. I didn't know about those evil men until that first one grabbed for me. I'm sure glad the marshal got there when he did."

While falling just short of undermining the girl's reputation, Breck did manage to undercut the reliability of her testimony. Some jurors might think she enticed the first man simply by being where she shouldn't, but that hardly signified. The most telling impression left with the jury was that she couldn't be sure any of the men currently on trial had been involved in the attempted molestation.

The young lawyer, who in the short time he'd been in Dodge had established a reputation for winning his cases, didn't spare his friends. He found grounds to cast doubt on what they saw. He also intimated that their seeming cooperation until Festus launched Matt's successful plan to prevent the outlaws from getting away was not that much different than the actions of the lowly followers of Mason Gore and his lieutenants. Doc had turned back when gang members stopped his buggy even if it was to remain alive to treat whoever might be needing his skills once they left. Kitty had stood by as they turned her saloon into their headquarters for the night. Even Festus had kept his urge to fight back reined in tight for the good of the town. He certainly didn't spare Matt Dillon.

"Marshal, can you deny that it's your sworn duty to protect the people of this community even at the risk of your life? Yet you surrendered your authority to them and even aided in their acquisition of the property of the citizens of Dodge City. Is that not so?"

"I'd have been of no use to anyone if I'd got shot in my office. At least by seeming to cooperate I could be there to keep others from being killed while I looked for a chance to strike back."

"Others challenged them where you whose job it is to keep the peace didn't. They died for their efforts."

"Yeah, Breck you know how much it tore me up to watch them killed or you wouldn't mention it. Still, given the circumstances I did my best to keep any more people from being hurt or killed. If I'd died at the start I wouldn't have been able to help Hank or Dora Frazier or seize the chance to ride to Fort Dodge for help."

"I do concede you lived up to your oath when after being beaten you galloped out of town toward the fort. Gore had prepared for that with a prearranged signal to let his men know to shoot down anyone with even an outside chance of summoning assistance. Can you identify any of these men seated at the defense table as the ones who shot you?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't have ridden as far as I did if I'd taken the time to look at the men shooting at me."

Before Matt stepped down from the witness chair, the prosecutor Carter Philbin during his re-cross reminded the jury of the fact their marshal faced a hail of bullets as he galloped down Front Street and was unable to race past all of them. All too soon their marshal was knocked from the horse and presumed to be dead, before engaging in further heroic efforts.

Matt was the final prosecution witness. After a meal break, Breck called the most articulate of his clients to explain their actions. His line of questioning reflected his strategy to get the lightest possible sentence or maybe even a verdict of not guilty if he was particularly persuasive.

"Objection!" Mr. Philbin intoned when the defense attorney asked his first witness if he was afraid his superiors would kill him if he disobeyed orders just as in any army. "You can't have it both ways. If you want to claim our citizens who cooperated were wrong to do so, you can't claim your own clients were justified in their actions."

"Sustained," Judge Brooker replied, upholding the objection. "Mr. Taylor, you will please confine yourself to questions that may establish if your clients were the actual ones to perpetrate the crimes of which they are accused."

The judge's decision resulted in a quick end to the trial. Despite the fact the first defense witness wasn't called until 3:00, the lawyers were recapping their case for the jury by 4:00. The jury didn't take long. They returned a verdict of guilty on all charges an hour later.

"You've been found guilty of unlawful seizure, coercion, armed robbery, assault, attempted murder and murder," Judge Brooker stated after the defendants stood. "Do you have anything further to state on your behalf?" They all shook their heads, so the judge continued with the sentence. "Seeing as how the man who authorized the takeover of Dodge City, enabling the committing of every crime that ensued, and his lieutenants are all dead and none of the witnesses can place any of you beyond a reasonable doubt as the actual men responsible for anything other than participants in the takeover of this community and armed robbery of its citizens, I can't impose the maximum penalties under the law for anything but those two charges. Therefore, each of you will serve 20 years in Leavenworth. Marshal, please make arrangements for the transfer of your prisoners. Court is adjourned."

Festus and Sam led the prisoners back to the jail. The editor of the Dodge City Bulletin Dave Benson rushed from the room to put out a special addition of the paper. Barney Danches left to send telegrams to every city and town in Kansas and the surrounding states and territories to let them know the Mason Gore gang was finished. Matt remained in the Dodge House lobby with Breck, Kitty and Doc. He watched and listened to the mood of the dispersing crowd as he slowly rose, not willing to admit how drained he felt. The wire to the authorities in Leavenworth could wait. His first priority had to be to protect the young lawyer.

"I'm sure you heard them. I'm afraid you've worn out your welcome in Dodge."

"Don't they understand I only did what the law demands?"

"Nope."


	5. Chapter 5 - Every Vote Counts

Chapter 5 – Every Vote Counts

Matt thought he'd fooled his friends when the makeshift courtroom cleared. He should have known better. Doc and Kitty both noticed he was near collapse. Kitty took his arm while Breck led the way and Doc followed. To his surprise his companions didn't steer him out the main door but toward the dining room.

Judge Brooker was in the room seated at a table waiting for his supper to be served. He beckoned for the quartet to join him.

"Young man, I couldn't have presented the case for the defense any better than you did, especially in such a hostile environment," the judge stated while they waited for their meal to be served. "However, I wouldn't attempt an appeal to overthrow the sentence I imposed. The odds are the length of their stay in prison would increase. Feelings against you and your clients may be hostile here, but they're murderous where the citizens never got a penny of their money back."

"That's what I've been trying to tell him, Judge," Matt added.

"You're lucky Mr. Taylor that you have a friend like Marshal Dillon with such a deep dedication to the law. Most of the town's citizens aren't as forgiving of how you ripped into the man who saved them and their town on the stand. As for you, Matt I suggest you try to find something else to excite the citizens for the sake of your prisoners as soon as we finish eating."

An hour later the four friends left Judge Brooker to climb the stairs to his room, his business in Dodge finished until his circuit brought him into the town again. Matt found a solid meal of steak with all the trimmings was just what he needed to restore his flagging energy, but he had to admit, if only to himself, he still had some healing to do. That would have to wait. He had a job to do, starting with following through on what Judge Brooker had said. He opened the front door of the Dodge House and offered Kitty his arm, stepping firmly onto the boardwalk.

"Matthew, thar yah are!" Festus greeted him as they emerged from the hotel. "Yah want me ta do the rounds again tonight?"

"Normally I'd be the first to tell you to ignore him, but for once Festus makes sense," Doc spoke up before Matt could respond. "As your personal physician Mr. Marshal I advise you to leave any further exercise of your professional duties to tomorrow while you get some much needed rest."

"I tell you what Doc, I'll guard the prisoners while Festus does the rounds and sleep there tonight," Matt replied rather than wasting energy arguing. "Will you escort Kitty to the Long Branch?"

Festus and Breck walked along with Matt to the jailhouse. Things seemed quiet enough, but Matt didn't want to leave the jail unattended before the trouble he expected arose. Once they arrived, he sent Breck out to the cells to let his clients know they would be escorted to prison in Leavenworth on the Santa Fe in a couple of days. He then quickly wrote out a wire requesting the prison send the guards to accompany them by the fastest route possible and handed it to Festus.

"Give this to Barney and wait while he sends it. Tell him I want the response as soon as it arrives. You might as well come back here before starting on the late rounds."

Breck joined Matt, who was watching Festus enter the telegraph office. He failed to see what else was of interest to the Dodge lawman.

"I don't think you should leave the office just yet. Looks like we might have a problem."

That was an understatement. A couple dozen men were marching down the middle of Front Street toward the jail, not all of them drunk. Matt closed the heavy wooden door then grabbed a couple of rifles from the rack and quickly loaded them before handing one to Breck. He'd just finished when a rock hit against the bars on one of the windows. The only reason it didn't break the glass was it was too big to reach the windowpane. Then a volley of them rattled the closed front door. During the pause while the mob gathered more rocks and pebbles Matt stepped outside, closing the door behind him and effectively blocking it.

"Send out them scumbags. We only want them to pay for what they did to this town, for what they did to my daughter," Dora's father shouted.

"You know I can't do that," he said addressing his remarks to Mike Frazier. "Judge Brooker handed down the sentence and I've got to keep them locked up until the men arrive from Leavenworth to take them to prison."

"We got nothing against you, Marshal," Frazier the obvious leader continued. "We know you've got a job to do. You did it when they took over our town. If not for Doc and Festus you would have given up your life doing it. They shot you down like you would a rabid dog. You can't tell me all they deserve is a prison cell. All you have to do is hand them over. We'll give them the beating and hanging they deserve. Then we'll tar and feather their sleazy lawyer and run him out of town."

"The answer's still no. I swore an oath and I've got to live up to it. Breck was also doing his job."

"Well, we think he done it a bit too good," another member of the mob yelled out.

"You stand in our way, we'll have to gun you down, Marshal," yet another shouted.

"If you try to shoot your way in more than one of you will die before I go down," Matt stated stepping to the side of the jailhouse door as Breck came through it, his rifle raised.

"Y'all heard Matthew," Festus added from behind the determined mob. "Whoever he and Breck don't git, I will."

"None of us want to die tonight. It's time you put the reason for today's trial behind you. 20 years from now when they get out of prison this will all be a faded, bitter memory."

Matt saw just the slightest hesitation as if what he was saying had had the tiniest impact. He took a quick glance at Breck beside him, who nodded in response.

"Would you be willing to go home if I told you Breck's leaving on tonight's 10 o'clock stage? You can come back tomorrow to the school and act like responsible citizens."

"I reckon we could, Mike replied. "But what do you mean about acting like responsible citizens tomorrow?"

Tomorrow's the vote you asked for that could change the future of Dodge or have you forgotten already?"

Thoughts of the upcoming election was enough. The mob disbursed. Some headed home while others went toward the brothels, gambling and dance halls and saloons. Breckenridge Taylor made his way to his room at the Dodge House by way of the stage depot. He bought a ticket on the stage to Meade. Matt sat catching up on his paperwork until Festus finished the early rounds. Not long afterward he fell asleep on the office cot.

A long night's sleep did a world of good. Matt felt better when he awoke just past dawn than he had since before Doc removed the bullets Gore's men had shot into him. He looked in on his prisoners who would be the responsibility of the prison guards by evening and gone sometime tomorrow. The street was quiet except for the lamp lighter and milkman making their rounds. It would probably be safe to lock the door and walk down the street to Delmonico's for breakfast.

"Mornin' Matthew. "I ain't been to bed yet, but I could stay awake a mite longer ifn yah don't mind me boilin' up a pot o coffee fit fer a Haggen."

"Go ahead, Festus. I'll be back from breakfast directly."

Upon his return he found Festus, Herb Wilcox and James Kelley drinking coffee and looking at the contents of a large box in the middle of the table.

"You were out when we got here. We wanted to stop by to ask if you'd verify the vote count tonight. It's just to prevent any violence arising out the outcome. Folks trust you to be honest."

Matt agreed to spend most of his day watching the ballot box being filled, take it from the school and lock it in his safe, and finally confirm the election judges' tally after he removed the box so they could determine the outcome. He watched as the election commissioner and mayor left for the schoolhouse with the empty box and second one full of blank ballots. One thing was certain, whatever the outcome of today's vote, Dodge City's children would be glad to have an extra day off from school.

"This here vote's about keepin' things the way they are, ain't it?" Festus asked as he turned the ballot he'd taken before the town officials left this way and that. "How's a fella ta know where ta put his mark so's you count it as that an not the other way round?"

"I thought I explained back when you registered. When you come into the schoolroom you'll give your name to the person at the desk by the door who will check it off on the list of eligible voters. Then they'll give you a blank ballot like this one. There are two things to be decided on this ballot," Matt said taking the piece of paper from Festus' hands and placing it on the table so both of them could look at it. "Each has two boxes right next to it. If you put your mark in the top one it means you agree with what's written there. If you mark the bottom one you disagree. Marking the bottom one on both will count as a vote for keeping things as they are. When you've done that, you bring your ballot over to a sealed box with a slot in the top. Fold the paper and drop it into that box. That's it. Do you have it straight in your head as to what's being decided?"

"I reckon I do, Matthew. The one's what Reverend Campbell and Miss Bess was havin' those two meetins about nobody bein' allowed ta buy a drink in town even if he's got the money. Miss Kitty explained t'other ta me. She tol me ifn folks agree to it her girls couldn't take fellas up to a room in the Long Branch if they've a mind to anymore. Ifn they did, the girl an' Miss Kitty would have ta pay money ta the town. She said she'd have ta stop allowin' her girls ta use their rooms upstairs so as not ta have ta pay extra money an' that would mean she couldn't protect 'em from men what wasn't how they seemed at first."

"You've got it straight, I think. In the meantime, could you keep an eye on things in here? I'll be back directly after I line up more men I can trust to watch the prisoners while I'm watching the voting."

Matt arrived at the schoolhouse carrying the blank ballot he'd taken from Festus an hour before the doors were to open at 8:00. Anyone who'd registered could vote as long as he arrived before 6:00. Delmonico's would send over sandwiches and coffee for Matt and the election officials to eat while they kept watch. Each of them also had a designated backup for the morning and afternoon five-minute break. Matt chose Doc as his stand-in.

The voting went smoothly. As far as Matt could tell nobody had tried to vote twice or stuff the box with bogus ballots. He felt confident as he carried the box of marked ballots over to his safe. The box would remain locked up until it was time to count them. Doc and Kitty brought a tray with his supper since he couldn't leave. The arrangement was, once they arrived, one of the Leavenworth guards would remain awake in the jailhouse at all times, leaving Matt free to go about his business and even get some sleep. The guards arrived at 7:00.

At 7:30, when the election officials arrived, Matt sent the prison guard to the back to watch the prisoners in their cells until the town business was complete. Once the door separating his office from the cells was closed he opened his safe and placed the box of ballots on the table next to an empty box they'd brought with them for the vote count to begin. He watched as they removed each slip of paper from the full box he'd taken from his safe, wrote the tally on a pad carefully marking down each vote in the appropriate for or against column and deposited the counted ballot in the empty box they'd brought with them.

Once all the votes were in, Matt added the marks, arranged in groups of five, again to make sure the results were the same. Then he took each ballot out of the now full box and counted them again on his own tally sheet. This time he stacked the ballots into neat, tied piles of 25 before tying up the whole package with a larger piece of string. He then locked the ballots back in his safe with both tally sheets to be available in case of a challenge after Wilcox verified the total number of votes was the same on each sheet. Luckily everything matched exactly because Matt was too tired to deal with yet another recount.

The temperance referendum failed 210 to 191 while the change in the town ordinance regarding prostitution passed by a margin of 163 to 159. Fines would now be levied on all establishments where a soiled dove was caught blatantly, that is money was seen to exchange hands while a girl was with a man or a girl was seen to be walking up the stairs while a man seemingly took liberties on their way to a designated room. It would be up to the girl thus caught to prove that she was engaging in fornication and not prostitution. Given the girls reputations, unless she and the man in question openly walked out together, this was nigh on to impossible to prove.

The next morning all of Dodge was eager to see the prisoners hauled away and learn the results of the vote. Those who could watched the eastbound Santa Fe take the remnants of Mason Gore's outlaw army to prison under heavy guard. The rest read it in the local paper along with the special election results. By evening, life was back to normal except that the dance hall and saloon girls, particularly in higher-class saloons like the Long Branch, were more discrete about how they earned their living and the brothels were relegated to south of the tracks in places like Rat Pan Alley.

Breckenridge Taylor was busy even while he was leaving town. He filed an injunction against the election results with his traveling companion on the Meade stage, Judge Brooker. Three weeks later Dodge City received official notification that the challenge was dismissed, but a second, based on the outcome was still pending. The young lawyer filed suit on behalf of the prostitutes on the grounds that imposing those fines were in effect illegal taxation.


End file.
